A Bond Too Strong
by heathsie
Summary: Alex returned to 2008 briefly but is now firmly back in the 80's. Can she and Gene begin to rebuild their relationship after the shooting? How will the pair cope as they get closer and closer? Rated T for now but will prob change later on in the story :D
1. Home at Last

**Ok, this is my first A2A story with an idea that's been nagging me since the end of the second series, but after discovering all the AMAZING stories and writers on here, I wasn't gonna bother even trying lol :D**

**But anyways, I had a spare afternoon so here goes . . .**

**(Please be nice, but any feedback is greatly appreciated!)**

Stumbling out of the hospital double doors, Alex bent over, placing her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath and push away some of the pain that was throbbing away in her temple. After a few moments, although the pain in her head remained, she had managed to get her breathing under control. Looking up and over towards the hospitals taxi rank, she began to make her way towards the first one in the line, opening the passenger door and gingerly pulling the door closed behind her. Sitting back in the black leather seat, she closed her eyes and sighed, not moving for several moments. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see the driver staring at her rather oddly in the rear-view mirror.

She was too exhausted, confused and in pain to care. "Sorry, erm . . ." She had been about to give the driver her address but paused, shocked to realise that for a moment she couldn't remember her address. She had got so used to being driven everywhere or drinking in a bar that was in the same building as her flat that she hadn't had to think about an actual address in a long, long time.

Shaking her head a little to try and clear some of the fog she felt clogging up her brain, only to send further shards of pain shooting to her cerebral cortex. She relayed the correct address to the driver, who said nothing as he put the cab in gear and pulled away with a sigh and a barely perceptible shake of his head.

Throughout the journey Alex didn't notice the odd looks and frequent sideward's glances she received from the driver – she was too busy lost in her thoughts, as one came crashing into the back of another into her consciousness with a painful shove.

_I'm really home. 2008. Molly. I'm going to see Molly. And Evan._

Repeating that mantra over and over again in her head gave Alex a rush of excitement as she sat there taking in her surroundings, looking for any sign that she recognised, some hint that she was close to her daughter.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, the taxi pulled into a street that Alex recognised vaguely. The cab came to a stop. Getting out, Alex turned to the drivers open window. "Right, I'll be back in a minute", she told him.

Walking up the driveway to the house she and Molly had shared for so long, Alex felt a little nervousness creeping into her belly. And not just at the fact she hoped someone was inside to pay her taxi fare for her. She had been away for almost two years, living a completely different life to the one she had been before the shooting, the life that she was stood facing right at this moment. She didn't know what to expect or how long she had been away in this world.

Knocking gently on the door, a mixture of shock, elation and trepidation shot through her as the front door was pulled back to reveal her godfather stood there looking at her speechless, eyes wide and mouth formed into a little 'O' shape.

"Alex . . ." he mustered after a few moments.

"Evan", she replied feeling tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She didn't know what else to say in that moment and instead took a moment to look him up and down. He looked good, she noted. He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt with navy trousers, his hair rather dishevelled as though he had been running his hands through it, with a tea-towel thrown over his left shoulder.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car horn blaring behind her. Rather startled by the sudden noise, she began to ramble. "I . . . sorry . . . have you . . . I mean I haven't . . . the taxi . . ."

"Hold on", Evan called to the driver of the cab. He disappeared into the house and returned a moment later, wallet in hand, pushing past her towards the street. Smiling a small smile at the thought of the man who had become her second father throughout her life, she turned and stepped towards the house. Crossing the threshold, Alex could immediately smell some sort of pie or something cooking in the kitchen, and she made her way towards that room as if drawn by the smell, calling out for Molly as she went, holding onto banisters and walls for support as her legs suddenly felt like jelly.

"She's out with Rachel", Evan's voice came from behind her as she took a seat on one of the silver stools pushed under the breakfast bar, not trusting her legs to hold her weight for much longer.

"Oh right", Alex nodded, regretting the action as soon as she'd started, reaching up to place the palms of her hands over her temples to try and dim the pain. Upon feeling soft cotton under her hands instead of the smooth hair she was expecting, she let out a little gasp of surprise at the realisation that her head was still wrapped in a bandage. She could almost muster up enough energy to care about what the taxi driver must have thought about her, but not quite.

Evan moved around to the other side of the breakfast bar, placing his open palms in front of her. "Nice fashion Alex", he told her, his mouth twitching into a smile. With him stood right there in front of her, Alex couldn't help but compare his face to the face she had seen in the 1980's, smiling at the lines that now creased the corners of his eye and along his forehead, the grey hairs framing his face and the way his face seemed to hang a little lower overall, the past 25 years taking its toll.

"Thanks", she muttered, not bothering to remove her hands from her head. "When's Molly due back?"

"Not long, a couple of hours. I'm sure she wouldn't have gone out if she knew . . . I mean, I told her to go . . . didn't seem right her sitting around here all day . . ."

Now she did raise her head, looking his straight in the eye. "It's fine Evan, I wouldn't want her hanging around here moping. I just wanted to see her." _So much_, she added to herself. _So very much_.

"Why are you here Alex?" Evan asked her after a heartbeat. At her look of surprise he quickly tried to explain what he meant. "I mean, why are you here? In this house? Now? Shouldn't you be in the hospital? You've been in a coma for two weeks. Do your doctors even know you're here?"

Alex could only sigh. "No, I woke up and I just wanted to see my daughter. I want to give my little girl a hug and kiss her head. I just . . ." Her voice broke.

"I know Alex, I know." He placed his hand over hers in a gentle gesture of comfort. "And she wants to see you too. More than you know. She's spent every minute she could at the hospital by your bedside and sulked at me for hours every time I made her leave to go to school or get some sleep. But she wouldn't want you here if you weren't well."

Alex didn't know what to say and she felt the tears that had been forming start to spill down her face, as she couldn't hold herself together anymore. As Evan came round to embrace her, Alex didn't know why she crying. Whether it was because she had finally gotten home, because she wanted nothing more than to hold her daughter and she wasn't there, because her head hurt more and more with every waking moment, or because she felt irrationally lost and scared as she sat in her own kitchen in the arms of the man who had brought her up basically all her life.

"Come on Alex", Evan whispered into her ear when her sobbing had calmed a little. "You need some sleep."

"No . . . I can't . . . I"

"Yes." Alex didn't have the energy within her to fight him and let Evan lead her up the stairs towards her room.

Pulling the duvet up to her chin and watching Evan as he drew the curtains closed and quietly shut the door to, Alex could feel herself shaking as she tried to get warm under the sheets.

Despite her apprehension, she felt herself drifting off into unconsciousness willing herself not to dream about the one person she was trying to block from her memory.

**What did you think? I know there isn't any Galex but please stick with it and I promise more and more in the upcoming chapters if people want it :D**

**Anyways, comments, constructive criticism and idea's greatly welcome :D**

**x**


	2. Wistful Dreams

**Thanks soooo much to HuntsGirl, bleedblck, Fran16, theHuntgoeson and Vicky1981 for reviewing the first chapter – this is for you guys and I hope you like it!**

_"Guv, I told you to wait, I told you I could handle it. But oh no – the great Gene Hunt couldn't possibly let someone else, especially a woman, be the hero of the hour." Alex was stood in Gene's office facing him on the other side of his desk. He was also stood, getting more angry by the minute as his DI continued to shout and wave her arms about at him._

_"What ya talkin bout, ya daft cow. That kid had a GUN in case you hadn't noticed. He had a gun and he was pointing it at one of MY officers. If it wasn't for me . . ." _

_Alex interrupted him. "Not noticed? How could I have not noticed? In case YOU hadn't noticed, it was ME he was pointing the bloody thing at!"_

_"I know that!" Gene was shouting now too, and although she really was angry at him she felt a little buzz of excitement in the pit of her stomach at the fire in his voice and the way a lock of hair fell across his forehead as he jerked his head suddenly as he shouted. "Why do you think I . . ."_

_"You what?" Alex was still fuming but she subconsciously lowered her voice a little at the mixture of hurt and confusion she saw spread across his features. "Barged into a hostage negation situation all guns blazing? Didn't trust me enough to let me do my job?" Looking directly into his eyes, Alex saw something she couldn't read before he lowered his gaze to his desk and replied._

_"This has nothing to do with trust."_

_"Of course it does. The simple truth is you don't trust a woman to do what you consider to be a man's job in a man's world. Just admit it Gene." She thought she had finally got him to admit the truth when he continued to look at his desk and refused to meet her eyes. _

_"Don't you talk to me about truth." His voice was low but strong._

_"Why not Gene?" She was starting to lose her temper again, her voice getting louder with every word. She walked around the side of his desk as she spoke standing so close she could feel the heat of his body on her own and his warm breath on her chest as he eventually looked back at her face. She felt that ball of heat growing inside her stomach and she tried to keep steady on her suddenly jelly-like legs. She kept her voice strong, unwilling to let him see the effect he had on her body. "We've come this far, we might as well go all the way and admit the fact you don't think I'm any good at my job and you don't want a woman like me around here. In YOUR domain. A woman that actually has opinions of her own and doesn't come at your beck and call like an obedient little dog!"_

_He looked her straight in the eye now and she put a hand on his desk to the side of her to keep herself upright. "You have no idea have you?"_

_She barely had time to even register what he said before his lips were crashing onto her own. She could do nothing for several seconds, stunned as Gene ran his tongue along her lower lip, nipping slightly, asking for access. Suddenly her brain kicked into gear and instructed her body to command. Her tongue wrestled with his as she opened her mouth and allowed him the access he had wanted. She could taste whiskey and cigarettes as she moved to explore his mouth further. _

_She reached up her free hand to tangle her fingers in his hair, as she felt his arms slide around her waist and his fingers slip under the silk of her blouse, rubbing slight circles into the small of her back. _

_"Gene . . ." she murmured into his mouth as she felt her knees buckle, her hand on his desk no longer a strong enough support as his kisses got more and more intense and his hands moved higher on her back._

_She groaned at the loss of skin contact as he reached down to lift her onto his desk. Not having to worry about keeping herself upright anymore, Alex could focus on the man standing in front of her in a way she had wanted to for some time but never thought she would get the chance. Pushing his jacket from his shoulders, she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as she hooked a finger into the front of his white shirt pulling him closer to her. She groaned when he placed both hands on her thighs, pushing her jean-clad legs further apart so he could get as close as possible. She began undoing the button on his shirt one by one, pausing only to kiss his skin as she exposed it. Once done, she pushed the white fabric off his shoulders in the same way as she had done the jacket before running her flat hands down his chest and over his nipples. She raised her arms as Gene pulled her blouse up and over her head, sighing contently as he moved to kiss the tops of her breasts. _

Alex jumped and sat bolt upright in bed as the knock on her door that has interrupted her slumber sounded again.

"Mum?" Molly. 2008. No Gene in 2008. Alex sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to keep her voice steady as she shouted for her daughter to enter.

**What did you think? I wasn't sure whether to leave it here or carry on but it seemed like a good place to break.**

**Reviews pretty please?**

**x**


	3. Tell Me The Truth

**Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers :D It's thanks to you that I'm carrying on with this story so here is the next chapter and I really hope you like it!**

"Mum?" Molly pushed open the door to Alex's room to see her mum sat up in bed, hugging the duvet around her legs, head resting on the tops of her knees. Molly could see the unspilled tears in her mum's eyes as Alex turned to face her, and the obvious pain on her face shocked her a little. "Mum?"

"Come here Mols", Alex whispered, throwing one arm out towards her and gesturing her daughter to join her on the bed. Molly let her mother gather her up in a tight hug, just glad to have her mum back, a dozen sarcastic comments about how she was far too old and mature to be seen hugging her mother dying on her lips as she felt Alex's body heave a little against her own with a sharp intake of breath.

_He was wrong, _Alex thought to herself as she clung onto Molly as tight as she dared. She was thinking back to one of the last mornings she had woken up in 1982, thinking of watching him on her telly, how she had moaned about him spoiling one of her childhood memories. _He said I had been a fantastic mother, but I'm not. I've spent more than a year away from my daughter, my daughter who's father abandoned her, my daughter who needs me, and now I've got her back I can't stop thinking about what I've lost. I'm a terrible mum. _A single tear ran down her cheek. "I love you Mols, you know that don't you?"

Molly pulled back from her mother's embrace, looking a little shocked. "What do you mean do I know you love me? Of course I know. What makes you say that?"

Alex felt an unexpected but familiar rush of love for her daughter and she placed a hand on the side of Molly's face, stroking her cheek with her thumb. _I remember doing that to him once. When I was in that freezer and he rescued me. Like he always did. From that freezer, from Martin Summers, from . . . _She turned her head to one side, unable to look her daughter in the eyes. _I am a terrible mother. _

"Mum? What is it? Please tell me what's wrong? You're starting to worry me?"

Alex couldn't help a little smile then. Her daughter was always so grown up. She used to joke with friends all the time that Molly had been born at about age 35. She forced the smile to stay in place a little longer as she shrugged. "Nothing's wrong Mols, I'm just tired." She knew she sounded lame and forced as she spoke but hoped her daughter wouldn't notice the sight quiver in her voice or the fresh batch of tears forming in her eyes. She should have known better.

"You always taught me not to lie," Molly admonished.

Alex sighed. _I can't tell her the truth. She would hate me, and I wouldn't blame her. All the time she thought I was seconds away from death and facing the rest of her life without her parents, I was living a completely different life without her._

The tears did begin to fall now. "Molly, I really did miss you, you know?"

"I know mum, I know. I missed you too. So much. But you were only in a coma for two weeks, and while it was probably the worst time of my life, now you're back."

"Oh Mols, I was away for so much longer than that." Alex could see the confusion on her face.

"I don't understand."

Alex didn't know where to start but she knew she had to at least try and explain to her daughter. Not only did Molly deserve that, but Alex felt she had to tell someone. Someone who wasn't going to call for the men in the white van, lock her up and throw away the key.

She took a deep breath. "Do you remember Sam Tyler Mols?"

Molly nodded. "How could I forget? The nutter who killed himself and gave you loads of psychology stuff to put in your book."

"Yeah, well it turns out that I may just be a nutter in need of some therapy too." Molly still looked confused and Alex realised this was going to be harder than she thought. "Mols, after I was shot that day, I woke up."

"Yeah you did. Yesterday in the hospital."

"No Mols, that's not what I mean. I woke up before that."

"But . . ."

"I thought I was hallucinating at first", Alex continued, determined to carry on now that she had started. "You know, transferring my body and mind onto another spiritual plane while I was in a coma here." She paused. "But it felt so real Molly. I was in London, even in my station I think, but everything was so different. I was in the past."

"The past?" Molly interrupted.

Alex nodded. "1981."

"1981?"

"There's where I woke up yes, but I was there for over a year Mols. Over a year before I woke back up here. And I was so scared a lot of the time Molly. I tried so hard to get back to you but nothing I did worked. I even tried to . . ." The lump in her throat stopped her.

"What?"

"Your gran and granddad were there."

"You tried to save them?"

Alex just nodded. _She doesn't need to know the whole story. Not yet anyway._

"You were a police officer?"

"Yes." She chuckled a little. "A Detective Inspector in 1981, any idea's how hard that was?"

"I suppose it must have been."

Alex couldn't tell if Molly thought she had actually lost her mind or if she was simply trying to take in everything she was saying.

Molly looked up to meet her mum's gaze again. "Did you meet anyone?"

It was the one question Alex neither wanted nor knew how to answer. She stuttered "Well yeah, of course I did Molly. There was a whole team of CID officers I worked with everyday."

Molly seemed hesitant but after a couple of beats she asked "Mum, who is Gene?"

Alex felt her mouth drop open and her breath leave her lungs. "He . . . he . . ."

"The doctors said that name was the only thing you said the whole time you were in the hospital. Who was he?"

Alex remembered what Martin Summers had said about her time in the hospital, how she had only muttered that mans name since she'd been shot. She was at a total loss. She didn't even know where to begin to explain.

"Mum?" Molly put a hand on her mums arm. "Please tell me."

Alex nodded. "He was my DCI." For a split second, Alex hoped that would be enough explanation for her daughter but she immediately realised there was no chance of that, looking at her expectant face. "He was in charge at the station." She smiled as she let herself think about the man she had come to admire and respect so much more than she'd ever have thought possible. "And . . . and he was horrible at first. All I wanted was to see you again Mols, and he showed up, all sexist and pig-headed and arrogant. The idea of spending more time with him than I had to was awful. I . . ."

Alex felt Molly give her arm a little squeeze. "Go on", she encouraged. "It's ok."

"It's not ok Mols, it's not. The longer I was there, the more time I spent with him, the better I got to know him. The way he uses sarcasm to cover up the fact he cares, the way he doesn't want to let anyone in not because he's cold or hard, but because he's scared of getting hurt and the way he does whatever it takes to catch a criminal, and even though his methods are quite often questionable his heart is most definitely in the right place."

"He sounds great", Molly told her. She had been watching the way her mum seemed to perk up since she had started talking about her DCI. The way her eyes had begun to shine and the etches of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth throughout her whole description.

"Yes, but that's not the point Molly." Her eyes darkened suddenly and Molly was surprised to see what looked like shame on her face. "I began to . . ." She couldn't say it. _How do I tell my daughter I had begun to forget her. _"I didn't know how to get home."

"Mum, you were in that place for over a year right?" At her mums nod, Molly continued. "It makes sense that you would begin to get attached to somewhere after being there for so long."

Alex looked up in surprise. "Attached?"

"You miss it don't you?"

The tears continued to flow down Alex's cheeks. "No Molly, I missed you."

"Mum, I know you did. That's not even in question but you spent a year there and you've been back here less than 24 hours."

Alex felt stupid now. _Why am I being so ridiculous and pathetic? That world was an hallucination, it wasn't even real. Molly, my beautiful daughter, is sat right here in front of me and I'm talking about imaginary constructs like they're my life. _"Molly, I'm so sorry. That world was an hallucination, a dream-state conjured up by my damaged mind. None of it matters now I'm back here. Now I've got my beautiful, intelligent, brave little girl back." She leant forward, enveloping Molly in another hug. "I'm so sorry. We'll never talk about it again, I promise."

"Mum, that's not what I want. I want to know all about it, what it was like."

"No, it's best we just forget Mols, trust me."

Molly decided to leave it for now. Pulling back from her mum and giving her her best smile, she asked "Breakfast?"

Pushing all thoughts of 1981/1982 to the back of her mind, she laughed at the expression on Molly's face and nodded, even though food was the last thing she thought she needed right now.

**Ok, firstly I apologise for such a long chapter, but once I started I couldn't seem to stop lol :D**

**I know it's pretty boring at the moment, but please stick with it and I'll try to update soon!!**

**x**


	4. Alone

"Bye Mols, have a good day", Alex told her daughter as she gave her a quick hug and watched her walk out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

"Are you joking Mum? I have double French first!" Molly shouted over her shoulder. "See you later, try and get some more rest. I'll come straight home after school."

"Yes Mum", Alex mocked with a roll of her eyes.

Once she heard the front door slam shut, Alex dumped the half eaten piece of toast she had been nibbling for appearances sake in front of Molly in the bin. _Really not hungry. _The truth was she felt a little sick. _Hardly surprising_, she told herself. _I've been in a coma, pumped full of drugs, had . . . disturbing . . . dreams and spoken about a fictitious world to my very real daughter like a crazy person._

With a heavy sigh, Alex looked around the kitchen in which she now stood. The kitchen that had been _her _kitchen for more years than she cared to remember. Her mind wandered back to times spent in this kitchen with Pete before he walked out on her, with Molly as she grew up, and more recently with a teenage Molly and Evan. Evan. He had been her father for so much of her life. He'd always been there for her since the death of her parents. A tragedy that once again felt raw in Alex's heart as she thought about that day. The day her father had blown himself and her mother up to try and keep them together. Although the daughter in her felt grief and shame and hate towards her father for what he did, the rational, educated psychologist within her could understand where his actions had come from.

_But how could Evan keep what really happened that day secret from me for so many years? He never told me. Will he ever tell me?_ After coming downstairs with Molly that morning, she had found a note on the fridge from Evan, stating that he had had to go into work but would be back around 6pm to see how she was doing. He had also reminded her that a nurse from the hospital would be coming over at around 2pm to see how she was doing after her questionable _discharge_ from the ward.

She suddenly felt very lonely. The house was silent around her. Needing something to occupy her mind, Alex reached for the phone off the wall and dialled the police station, reading the number that she couldn't remember off the piece of paper that she had pinned to the board under the phone for Molly and Evan if they ever needed her in an emergency.

***

Putting the phone down a good twenty minutes later, Alex felt a little surge of energy as she replayed the conversation she had just had in her head. DCI Taylor was still in charge at the station. _Of course he is, _she admonished herself, _it's only been two weeks._

Anyway, Mark Taylor had been happy to hear from her, wished her a speedy recovery and assured her that her job was still available to her just as soon as she was ready. _At least I still have a job._

She thought about going back to her old station. _It's not my 'old' station, it's just 'my' station, _Alex reminded herself, as she tried not to think about Fenchurch East and more specifically, the people who worked at that station. Alex let out a little chuckle at herself. _Fenchurch East. A station that only exists in your head full of people that your subconscious conjured up because of stories you heard from an ex-copper who committed suicide. _

But now she had started, she couldn't seem to shake the thoughts of Sam, Fenchurch East and 1981 from her mind. Time flew past as she sat there, mulling things over and over in her mind, until an idea began to take shape. Bolting out into the hallway with a renewed sense of purpose she grabbed the Yellow Pages from the cupboard by the stairs and went back into the kitchen to find the phone.

_An hallucination? Coma-induced dream? Fictitious characters? Well, there's one way to find out, _she thought as she thumbed her way through the phone book to the page she was looking for.

_It can't be this easy can it? _Her breath stopped and her heart missed a beat as she found the name she was looking for?

Picking up the phone once again, she felt her hand shaking as she ouched in the correct numbers and placed the handset to her ear. After ringing for a few seconds, Alec heard the line connect and an older woman's voice answer "Hello?"

"Hello" Alex managed to squeak out before trying to swallow the lump that ha formed in her throat.

"May I help you?" the woman asked.

Alex tried but failed to keep the tension out of her voice as she spoke. "May I speak to DCI Hunt please?"

**He he he, sorry to leave it there but I wanted o know what people think so far?**

**Should I carry on? Please let me know!**

**x**


	5. Phone Calls

"DCI Hunt?" The woman sounded a little confused to say the least. The moments of silence that followed caused Alex's heart to sink. _Must have been an hallucination after all. _Alex was trying to think of something to say, some way of explaining herself when the woman spoke again.

"Oh, you mean Mr Hunt? Gene Hunt? The man who lived here before me?"

Alex felt her pulse quicken as she swallowed. "Yes", was all she could manage.

"Well, I'm afraid he hasn't lived here for a few years now lovey. Lets see, I moved in just before my son's tenth birthday, so that would be 2005, so it must be a little over three years since Mr Hunt moved out."

Alex could barely believe what she was hearing. _It wasn't all a dream? He really exists? _"Do you know where he went Mrs . . .?"

"Mrs Bennett love, and I did have an address somewhere for forwarding any mail."

Alex could feel her heart now pounding in her chest. _It couldn't be this simple could it?_

"But that was a long ago I'm afraid, I've probably thrown it out somewhere along the line."

Alex sighed inwardly. _Apparently not._

"Is it important?" Mrs Bennett asked.

Alex paused. "Its ok . . . I just . . . Well I haven't seen him in a while that's all Mrs Bennett and I just wanted to catch up." _Close enough to the truth, _she thought to herself.

"Oh well I am sorry", Mrs Bennett apologised while Alex flicked the phone book in front of her shut and noticed the date on the cover. _2004/2005. Fantastic! _Silently cursing herself and her inability to throw anything away no matter how old or useless, Alex thanked Mrs Bennett for her time and hung up. She didn't know what to feel. She was totally confused. Gene Hunt really did exist, or at least someone with that name existed, but she had no way of finding him. _Unless . . ._

Picking up the phone for the third time in the last hour, Alex dialled the police station again.

"Ahh DI Drake, can't keep away can you?" DCI Taylor teased good-naturedly.

"Apparently not", Alex replied. "Sir, can I ask a favour?"

"Sure Alex, but since when did you call me sir?"

Alex hesitated. It had been a reflex. Although it was stupid and she would probably try and find a more rational explanation for her choice of words at a later date, the simple explanation was that she obviously still thought of someone else as her 'Guv'. "Sorry, slip of the tongue", Alex tried to cover, before moving on. "There was a police officer in the eighties called Gene Hunt. In 1982 he was a DCI." Taylor simply waited for her to continue. "I was wondering if you could find out what happened to him for me? Whether or not he's still in the force and . . . and where he's living now?"

"He a family member?" DCI Taylor asked.

"Not exactly sir no." _Damn, I did it again. _"A friend of the family. I haven't seen him in a while and I just wondered what he was up to these days. You know, while I have all this spare time on my hands." Alex tried to lighten her tone – she didn't now where she would begin if Taylor started asking her serious questions about her request.

"Ok Alex, leave it with me and I'll see what I can do."

Alex let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. "Thank-you Sir."

"You're gonna have to stop calling me sir though Drake. People are gonna get the wrong message."

With a smile Alex put the phone down. She really didn't know what to think now – her mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts, hopes and possibilities. She felt a littlt bubble of excitement begin to form in her stomach, at the same time the rational voice in her head was telling her not to get her hopes up and if Gene really did exist what did that mean had happened when she was shot? _Time-travel? Severely unlikely. _She shook her head. _A shower will help clear my mind and make me feel better, _she concluded. So pushing all thoughts of Gene and 1981 to the back of her mind, Alex wandered upstairs to have a shower and get dressed and ready for the nurse's visit.

"Hello?" Alex answered the phone, hoping it would be Taylor. She wasn't disappointed.

"Turns out your DCI Hunt was actually Chief Superintendant Hunt when he retired back in 2005." Her breath hitched at the word _your_ before trying to take in the rest of Taylor's statement. _Chief Superintendant? Retired?_

_"_Alex?"

Alex jumped a little as his voice startled her from her thoughts. "Yeah? Sorry. Did you manage to get an address?" Her hand gripped the phone a little tighter as she waited for his answer.

"Yeah, I found it", Taylor continued, obviously unaware of the effect this information was having on Alex. "The last registered address for him is a small flat off Shorebeck Road."

Alex tried but failed to place the location. "Shorebeck Avenue?"

"Yeah, not that far from here actually, close to Regent's Park, you know where . . ."

Alex suddenly remembered where he meant - she had even been with a colleague to have a look round one when they first went on the market a few years ago. "Oh yeah", Alex replied even though she hadn't really been listening to Taylor's detailed account on where they were. "Listen, thanks so much for getting back to me so soon, I know you must have much more important things to do." Alex really was grateful, if a little apprehensive now that the ball was firmly in her court. It was up to her now what happened next.

"Hiya Mum", Molly called as she came through the door and threw her school bag down on the floor in the hall.

"In here Mols", Alex replied from where she was curled up on the sofa in the living room, with the TV on even though she wasn't really watching it. It just provided her with a bit of company as she tried to sort through her thoughts and feelings.

"Ready Steady Cook?" Molly asks incredulously as she entered the room. "You really that desperate Mum?"

"Huh? Oh that, I wasn't really watching it, nothing else on anyway." She sat up and motioned for Molly to come and join her on the sofa. "Good day at school?"

"I told you this morning Mum – double French! Not my idea of fun!"

Alex couldn't help but smile at her daughter.

"What about you?" Molly asked after a beat. "What did the nurse say?"

"The nurse said everything is fine. She prescribed me some pain killers for the pain and gave me a number to call if they get too bad, and said she'll be back next week for another check-up."

"Good", Molly nodded her approval. They both pretended to watch the TV for a couple of minutes, both thinking of the best way to say what they were thinking.

"Mum. . ."

"Listen Mols . . ."

They both stopped and laughed. "You first", Alex told Molly.

"Well, its just . . . you know what you were saying earlier? About your coma? And your dream?" Alex nodded, intrigued as to what her daughter was about to say. _Maybe she's finally realised I am a nutter and she wants me to get help. Therapy for a psychologist! How ironic!_

"Was it really that real? That vivid? Like you were actually there."

"Oh Molly. It was felt so real. As real as sitting here with . . ." Alex trailed off. She didn't want to hurt her daughter or make her feel in the least bit insecure.

"It's ok Mum, go on. I want to know what it was like."

"Well actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about", Alex admitted. "You see, I've told you how real it felt and how . . . attached I felt to that place. For the time that I was there anyway", she added quickly. "And then this morning I was trying to sort it all out in my head. How something like that could happen. How it could have felt so real when the whole situation is obviously quite impossible. And I had an idea. I thought about the people I was there with so I tried looking one of them up." Molly looked confused. "In the phone book?" Confusion was replaced with understanding.

"Oh myGod", Molly spluttered. "You found them didn't you? You found someone? Gene?"

Alex gave a simple nod. "I found _a _Gene Hunt Mols. It can't be the same man though. But it just seems so . . . weird."

"You haven't been to see him?"

"I can't . . . it's too . . . I mean . . ." Alex couldn't believe she had turned into a stuttering wreck. It was just all so much to take in. Molly, on the other hand, seemed to be having no problems taking it all in and suddenly sprang to life. _The young mind_, she mused. _So impressionable._

"Get your coat Mum." Molly was dragging her by the hand to the front door.

"Molly?"

"Have you got the address?"

"Well, yeah but . . ."

"No but's, come on."

Alex smiled as she watched her daughter bossing her around and taking charge. _God help her poor husband one day. _But really she was just proud of her daughter. Alex had always thought of herself as a strong, confident woman, but it seemed Molly had more guts and determination at 12 than she had at . . . well a much older age.

Walking up the few steps leading up to the flat that she had scribbled down earlier, Alex felt sick. The earlier excitement at the prospect of Gene Hunt being a real person was currently being squashed by an overwhelming sense of foreboding and apprehension. _It can't be him. It's impossible. But what if it is? What if he doesn't want to see me? He did shoot me? But did he? That was an hallucination. He can't exist. _This was all to confusing.

Molly had reached the top of the stairs and rung the bell to the flat, before turning round just in time to see her mum put a palm to her forehead, eyes tightly closed and her other hand splayed out on the rail to one side to steady herself. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea_, Molly thought. She had no idea what was going on with her Mum. All this talk of dreams and comas was really starting to confuse her but she knew she had to do something – sitting at home moping about it all day wasn't going to help. _Either this guy isn't the guy from her dream and she can move on knowing it was all made up, or this is the guy she is looking for and . . . _

Molly didn't have time to contemplate what would happen if this was the Gene her Mum had mentioned whilst in her coma, as she heard the door behind her swing open. She was about to turn round and study the owner herself when she saw her mum's eyes go wide, mouth open into an 'o' shape in shock. "Mum?" she shouted as Alex's knee's buckled and she fainted back onto the driveway.

**I know this chapter went on a bit but I thought it better to get all this on one chapter!**

**Reviews? Pretty please? :D**

**Depending on what people think, I will update asap x**


	6. Confusion

**Hi guys, thanks to everyone who reviewd the last couple of chapters - I know I keep repeating myself but they really are very much appreciated and hopefully you'll next the next bit of the story and feel the need to review that too ;) x**

* * *

Alex felt like she was waking up from a deep sleep. She could hear voices. Or maybe they were just in her head. Her head was pounding and when she tried to lift a hand to her forehead she felt a twinge of panic when she couldn't move her arm, or any of her limbs. She became aware of something constricting in her throat as she tried to take in a deep, calming breath but found she could neither cough or swallow. She forced herself to calm down a little before trying to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt so heavy and she could hear the voices more clearly now.

"Alex, you're ok, you're in the hospital, don't try and move or speak. You've been under heavy sedation. Just hang on there for a moment."

_Where else am I gonna go? _she wanted to say but thought better of it. She could hear all kinds of noises coming from around her now; people talking and monitors beeping.

"Not long now Alex", a deep male voice was telling her.

The panic was beginning to resurface as Alex found it increasingly difficult to breathe. She tried to recall the last thing she could remember to occupy her mind, but as her last encounter came flooding over her so did the accompanying shock, relief, sadness, regret . . . _Gene. Gene was in 2008. He was older. But he was there. He was real. So I really was in 1982 and Molly . . . Oh My God, Molly. Where's Molly? She must be here. Is she ok?_

Just as she was about to call her daughters name she felt her airway clearing, coughing as the tube was pulled steadily from her throat. Sucking in deep breaths, Alex winced as she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen with every inhalation.

"Steady Alex, don't take it too fast, you're still very weak."

Alex put all her effort in opening her eyes and after a few seconds she could see slivers of bright light as she tried to make sense of what she was being told. "Weak? I fainted . . . Molly? Where's Molly?" She tried to sit up but felt hands on her shoulders almost immediately, pushing her gently back down onto the bed.

"Alex, I'm Dr Felton. You did a little more than faint Alex, and you're in the hospital."

_Did I hit my head? _"Hospital?" Alex had managed to open her eyes fully now and the pang of panic she had felt earlier returned in full force now as she blinked away the light and began to focus on her surroundings. Single beds with dull blankets on them all, machines at the sides of the beds that looked like they had come from the dark ages with manual turning buttons for administering pain relief and the thing that really caught her eye and swept the breath out of her lungs – the uniform of the nurse that was standing to the left of her bed. _It can't be. It can't possibly be . . ._

The man whose voice had identified itself as belonging to a Dr Felton was stood to the right of her bed, noting something on a clipboard. He looked down at her and must had seen the panic she was feeling reflected in her eyes. "Alex, there's no need to panic. You were shot but you were very lucky. We managed to get the bullet out and it missed all your vital arteries and organs so you should make a full recovery.

_Shot?_ Alex couldn't believe this was happening to her again. "How long have I been here?" she rasped, desperate for some water to sooth her dry and aching throat.

Dr Felton gestured for the nurse to pour Alex some of the water from the jug at her bedside before replying. "A week. You've been in a drug-induced coma for seven days now."

"A week?" Alex almost choked on her water.

The doctor nodded. "Purely a precautionary measure after such an injury and surgical procedure to allow the body to heal."

Alex was having a hard time taking all this in and she could feel tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. She had a horrible feeling this was not where she belonged but she had to try anyway. "Molly?"

The doctor features scrunched up in confusion. "Who's Molly?"

"That's her daughter", came a low, deep, male voice from somewhere behind the doctor. Alex could not see the figure but she would recognise that voice anywhere.

"No, no it can't be . . ."

"It's ok Alex", the doctor gave her his best soothing voice. "It's only DCI Hunt here to see you're ok. He's been here everyday since the shooting and he's very sorry for . . ."

Dr Felton had moved to one side as he was talking and Alex now had full view of her DCI stood at the door, looking rather awkward as he shifted from one foot to another looking down at the floor. She couldn't deal with this right now. "No, no, get him out, I shouldn't be here, this can't be happening, get him out, I don't wanna see-"

"Ok Alex, calm down." Dr Felton turned round to Gene. "Maybe it would be best if you let her rest for now. She's had quite a shock."

Alex fought for control of her breathing as she watched Gene push back through the door to the room, but not before she caught the look of hurt on his face. That was the last thing she saw as she slipped back into the darkness.

* * *

Alex woke again some time later. Opening one eye slowly she glance around the room to see she was still stuck in 1982. Fighting back tears of desperation, she noticed a figure sat on the opposite sat of the room reading a magazine. _Shaz._

"Shaz?"

Shaz's head bolted up from her magazine. "Ma'am?"

"Shaz, can you help me sit up?"

The young WPC was at her bedside in an instant, supporting her arms and adjusting her pillows as Alex pushed herself to a sitting position. "Ok Ma'am? Do you want me to get the doctor?"

Alex shook her head. "No thanks Shaz, I feel ok at the moment." That wasn't exactly a lie. Alex guessed the morphine was doing it's job and her stomach didn't seem to hurt quite as much as it did before.

Walking around to the other side of her bed, Shaz poured Alex a glass of water and handed it over, Alex gratefully taking it off her and swallowing a couple of sips. "You gave us quite a fright ya' know Ma'am."

Alex managed a small smile. She really did like Shaz. "Sorry about that."

"Don't apologise Ma'am, it's just so nice to see you awake. Up and talking." She hesitated a little before continuing. "Do you remember what happened?"

Alex closed her eyes. _Which time Shaz? _But she knew what Shaz was talking about. She her last memories of 1982 wash over her and felt tears welling in her eyes again. She had tried to push them away when she had returned home. _Home? Where is home? Was I ever actually there? Was it real or just a dream? _She was so confused.

"Ma'am?" Shaz placed her hand over Alex's on bed.

Alex's eyes flew open, startled out of her thoughts. "I remember Shaz." _I remember everything. Martin Summers. Douglas Lane. Bent coppers. Gene. Gene . . . he shot me. _She swallowed.

"He was devastated ya' know?" Shaz told her, as if the young WPC could read her thoughts. "He still is. He thought he'd killed ya'. The doctors told him about the coma and the fact your body needed time to heal but he thought he'd killed ya'."

"Shaz, I don't . . . I mean . . ." She had no idea what to say. _It was an accident. I know it was. It was my own fault, I was too impatient. _"I don't blame him Shaz."

"You don't?" Shaz'z face was full of hope.

Alex shook her head. Her feelings were currently a tangled, frazzled mess but in that moment she knew she didn't blame Gene Hunt for anything. Not for the shooting, not for her being back in 1982 and not for losing her daughter again. _Molly. _She choked back a sob, pushing the sadness she felt at losing her daughter for the second time to the back of her mind for later. When she was alone. "He must know that Shaz. He saved my life. Martin Summer would've killed me. It was my own fault he had to shoot and I moved."

Shaz nodded slowly but looked down at her knee. "I think you need to tell him that. And the Super."

Alex was shocked. "The Super?"

"Gene's been arrested Ma'am. They're gonna charge him with attempted murder."

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But wait a minute. He was here. Before. When I woke up. I sent him away, told him I didn't want to see him."

"The new acting DCI is an old mate apparently. He's escorted Gene here every day since it happened as a favour. DCI Nixon, that's his name, waits just outside the door while he comes in to see you. Only half an hour but it's better than nothing and the Super knows nothing about it."

Alex sat there in disbelief. "But . . . I don't believe this. Arrested?"

Shaz nodded. "Even Ray and Chris have had their doubts. You can see they want to believe the Guv, but everyone heard what he said to you in the office just before it happened and well . . ."

"What Shaz?"

"Well, he hasn't really said much since it happened. 'Cept to ask DCI Nixon to let him come here. He's just accepted everything, not even tried to fight the charges or explain what happened. He just shrugs and tells everyone to get on with whatever they gotta do."

"Shaz, I don't know what to say. This is ridiculous. Where's the Super now?"

"At the station I think Ma'am."

"Can you get me to a phone?"

* * *

**As always, any feedback, comments or suggestions are welcome and I hope to carry on this story asap! x**


	7. Back to the Flat

**Oooo, sorry for the long delay with getting this chapter up – don't you just hate real life sometimes? Lol**

**Anyways, thanks as always to those who reviewed and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

"Thank-you", Alex told Shaz as her young friend helped her back into her hospital bed. After wheeling her out into the corridor and up to the nurses station, Alex had insisted she had to use the hospital phone for urgent police businesss. _Not a complete lie_, she thought to herself. _A man's career and possibly his freedom depend on the call. _

"No problem Ma'am, just happy to help." Alex thought Shaz looked visibly happier now that when she'd first come round.

"Shaz . . ." She paused. She didn't know what she wanted to say. _When can I get out of here? Do I have any clothes here? Why am I back here again? Am I dead? When is Gene coming back? Have I scared him away forever? Is he even real?_

She decided to start with an easy question. _Poor Shaz looks confused enough. _"Where are my clothes Shaz?"

Shaz swallowed. "Erm . . . well, the ones you had when . . . when you came in here have been taken away by forensics . . ."

_Course they have._

"Shaz, I know it's a lot to ask and you've already done so much, I know, but do you think you could . . ." Alex didn't get the chance to finish her question, as Shaz practically leapt to her feet.

"Course Ma'am, no problem, I'll go by your flat tonight and bring you some clothes in the morning. Did the doctor's say when you can go home?"

Alex had managed to have a quick word with one of the nurses that were treating her after she'd used the phone before. "The nurse said she would check with the doctor but she thinks it'll be no longer than a couple of days."

One week later and Alex was only just getting out of the hospital. Chris and Shaz had come to pick her up, along with all the get well soon cards and tokens that had been sent or brought in to her over the last seven days. Shaz had dropped by every night after she finished at the office, even if she only stayed for half an hour, bringing her whatever she needed and keeping her up to date on the shenanigans of Fenchurch East.

Although Shaz mentioned 'the Guv', and how he was back where he belonged in the station after her phone call to the super the previous week with all the charges dropped, she never went further than that. And Alex never pushed.

"Come on then Ma'am let's get you into the car", Chris told her, supporting her weight as she slid into the passenger side of the patrol car.

"Does this count as valuable use of police sources?" Alex asked only half-joking.

"Guv wanted to make sure you got home ok", Chris replied, clearly not noticing the surprised look on her face or the slightl shrill tone in her voice as she asked "He did?"

"He's been asking about you all week Ma'am", Shaz piped up from the back seat. "We told him you were being discharged today and he sent us here to get you. Wanted us to get you settled at home before we go back to work." She decided not to tell Alex about the threats the Guv had issued along with these orders.

_Maybe he does care after all. _The fact he hadn't phoned, visited or even sent a message with one of the others over the last week had hurt Alex. Even Ray had been to see her. Ray! _He must still be angry with me. So angry he doesn't want to see me, even after he shot me. _She knew it had been an accident of course, had told the Super so, but a little apology or even an acknowledgement of her existence would've been appreciated. _Forget it, you need to concentrate on getting better Alex._

"Mmmm . . . well? Shall we go Chris? I don't know about you two, but I have had quite enough of hospitals over the last week."

Alex poured herself another glass of water from the tap, before returning to the sofa and pulling the blanket up over her bent knees to her chin. Unable to drink on the medication she'd been issued, she was stuck with tap water. _Brilliant. Just when I could do with a drink as well._

Shaz and Chris had kept true to their word, or Gene's orders anyway, helping her into the flat and making sure she was comfortable and had everything she needed before Alex practically had to throw them out of the door. "I'll be fine guys really. You go off and have a good night. I'll ring you in the morning to see what's going on and let you know I'm ok."

Now she was sat alone flicking through the channels on the TV trying her best to get some sort of sign that she was still alive in 2008. She wasn't having much luck though.

_Come on Molls, where are you? Just give me something._

Her eyes were beginning to droop a little as she continued to flick unsuccessfully. The doctor had warned that her medication would make her sleepy and that she needed as much rest a spossible in her condition. She was just trying to muster up enough energy to get up, turn the TV off and go to bed when a knock at the door made her sit bolt upright. It had been so quiet she thought maybe she'd dreamt it in her dozing state until it came again much harder. Pushing the blanket to one side she got up a little wobbly and went to open the door.

**Ok, I know there's no way Alex would be out of the hospital so soon after being shot and that she probably wouldn't be on her own but it's my story right, so I can do what I like?**

**Sorry to leave it on another cliffhanger but I'm already working on the next chapter so hopefully that'll be up soon and we can get into the more Galex-y stuff :) So please stick with the story and let me know what you think!**


	8. Crossed Wires

**Thanks once again to the lovely reviewers – you know who you are!! I know this story is a little long in getting started and a little boring up to now but I promise more and more excitement in the next few chapters! If people like enough for me to continue that is!!**

Alex slid the chain across and pulled back the door to reveal Gene stood outside, one arm on the doorframe supporting his rather large bulk as he leant forwards.

_Oh my God, he's drunk_, she thought. Looking at the state he was in quickly stilled the little flutters that she had felt in her stomach as she realised he had finally come to visit her.

"Bolly . . ." he slurred attempting to straighten himself up. He moved too quickly though and ended up off balance, stumbling into the flat and towards Alex. She just about managed to catch him and support his weight as he tried unsuccessfully to regain his balance, trying her best to ignore the pain shooting from the wound on her stomach as such sudden physical exertion.

"Come on Gene, over to the sofa", she instructed, half-guiding and half-carrying him. Once he had collapsed onto the cushions she pulled his boots off, before lifting his legs onto the sofa so he was in a more comfortable position.

Alex stood up, taking a step back to get a good look at her boss. _How does he always manage to look so good even when he's paralytic? _She drank in his appearance. The soft blonde hair, the piercing blue eyes she knew were there under his lids, eyelashes to die for, broad shoulders and long legs. _Definitely looks good to me._

She knew what she was doing was insane, knew that if he woke up now to find her staring at him he would think she had finally gone over the edge. But she couldn't help herself. Before she could talk herself out of it, she was leaning over his sleeping form, one hand on the back of the sofa to steady herself, as she placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. Lingering there for longer than she should, she closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. That unmistakable mix of whiskey, cigarettes, aftershave and tonight a seemingly powerful smell of beer. _A lot of beer._

Thinking about all that had happened over the last week she pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry", she whispered.

* * *

Alex was woken the next morning by the sound of her front door being slammed shut. Instantly recalling the events from the previous night, she tried to push away the disappointment she suddenly felt. _You knew he wouldn't stay. _Knowing that hadn't made her want it any less though. _I wanted to apologise to him properly, with him awake. Apologise for leaving him and getting him arrested. He was only trying to protect me even after I hurt him so much._

She got out of bed as gingerly as she could, aware that the pain in her stomach worsened considerably if she moved too fast. Slipping her dressing gown on over the big shirt she slept in, she went out into the kitchen.

She frowned, confused, as she went to fill the kettle up and noticed an old envelope on the side covered in familiar scrawl. She picked it up.

_Alex,_

_Thanks for last night – I was really pissed._

_Didn't want to wake you. Ring me when you get up._

_Gene_

_Rig him? He wants me to ring him? He shoots me, avoids me like the plague for over a week and wants ME to ring HIM? _And although she knew she shouldn't, she also knew that as soon as the clock struck nine and he would have arrived at work she would be on the phone. _It's probably just about work anyway, _she told herself. _He wants to know when I'll be back at work. Either that or he wants to tell me he's had me transferred to Glasgow. _She didn't smile.

* * *

Gene was sat in his office leant back in his chair with his legs up on the desk. It was still some time before nine and the office was quiet, giving him a chance to think. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He remembered being in Luigi's downing pint after pint and he remembered climbing te stairs leading up to Alex's flat and her opening the door, but after that things got a little hazy. He hoped he hadn't made a fool out of himself. _More than I already have anyway._

He had felt so awful after the shooting, so lost. Unable to function properly with the thought that he had probably killed Alex hanging over him. _Alex. The one person who makes me feel alive in this world. Alive and not alone._

They had arrested him afterwards of course. He knew they would, knew how it looked but he didn't care. If Alex died then it didn't matter that him shooting her had been an accident, that he'd been trying to save her. If she dies, then he deserved to rot in prison. None of it would matter anymore.

But then she had woken up. She had come back to life. _Always knew she was a stubborn cow. _He had been so relieved when he'd heard her voice calling for her daughter. But then everything had gone wrong. She'd seen him and started screaming. He'd wanted to apologise, to take her hand and reassure her but the fear he had seen in her eyes had stopped him dead. She was afraid of him. And he didn't blame her.

He had stayed away from her since then – making sure she was well looked after by the team but staying away himself. She needed space. That much had been crystal clear.

He didn't know what he'd been thinking last night. _Too much booze._

The shrill ring of the telephone on his desk jerked him back to the present as he instinctively knew who was calling.

"DCI Hunt", he answered. There was a pause on the other end.

"Gene hi, it's Alex." She sounded nervous. He had expected more anger than nervousness.

He forced himself to sound more confident than he felt right at that moment. "'iya Bolls, how ya doin'?"

"Erm . . . ok thanks. I'm feeling a lot better."

"Good." There was another pause. "Listen Bolls, i just wanted to say thanks for last night. I was a bit worse for wear and . . ."

"So you said in your note."

"O yea', sorry 'bout that, it's just . . . well I didn't wanna wake ya an' I . . ."

"Gene I'm not shouting at you", she interrupted his attempted explanation. "It's just . . . well . . ."

"Wha'?" _Here it comes. She's going to politely ask me never to step within fifty bloody yards of her flat ever again._

"Well it would have been nice to see you."

_Huh? _Whatever Gene had been expecting this was definitely not it. He didn't know what to say.

Alex obviously misunderstood his silence. "It's just I haven't really had a chance to say thans for saving my life with Martin Summers and sorry for getting you into trouble with the Super and for . . . getting you arrested. I just thought it would have meant more face to face. I mean i haven't really seen you since . . .", she trailed off aware she was babbling.

"Since you told me to go away", Gen supplied quietly.

"What?" She sounded genuinely surprised.

"In the hospital when you came round. You told me to go away, practically screamed it in my face actually."

"Gene -" she began but he interrupted her.

"I'm not saying I blame ya Alex 'cause after what 'appened I don't, but ya asked me t' stay away so I did."

"I did . . . I remember . . ."

Gene was utterly confused now. _Don't you get memory loss with a head injury not a bullet to the abdomen?_

"Oh God, Gene, I am so sorry. I thought you were avoiding me. I forgot, I thought . . . Gene, what are you doing tonght?"

"Erm . . ." the question had caught him off guard.

"Can you come over? I need to explain. Please?" she sounded almost desperate.

"Bloody hell Bolls ya don't have t' beg. I'll see ya later ok?"

"Ok."

He put the receiver down. _Well she doesn't hate me, that's a start._

**Reviews?? Pretty please let me know what you think and I'll update asap with lots more Galex in the next chapter I promise x**


	9. Building Bridges

**Ok, here is the next chapter and I just want to say a special thanks to theHuntgoeson and sash queen of the jungle for reviewing the last chapter :) xxx**

**This is unbeta'd so any mistakes are my own! Unfortunately I own nothing and the BBC and Kudos have that pleasure!**

Alex looked at her reflection in the mirror for the hundredth time that evening.

_Too safe, _she told herself, pulling the high-necked, long sleeved grey top over her head and flinging it onto the ever increasing pile of clothes gathering on the bed behind her.

_You messed up big time and you need to make an impression._

At the same time though she didn't want to look too slutty. She didn't want Gene to think she was easy. Did she?

She sighed. She didn't have that many clothes here in 1982 and the ones she did have appeared to be at either end of the 'slut – grandma' scale, with very little in-between.

Reaching into her wardrobe again, her hands fell upon a sleeveless black top made of silk that she had bought for a works do earlier in the year and then forgotten about. It had a moderately daring neckline, showing just enough cleavage to be sexy and classy at the same time. She quickly changed from her skin tight jeans to a black figure-hugging pencil skirt to complete the outfit.

_This will have to do. He's only coming round for an explanation anyway Alex, not a bloody lapdance. _She felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards at the thought,

Quickly pushing that thought away, she sat down at her dressing table and decided that a little mascara and lip gloss would be enough for her casual look. She sat there for a moment thinking about the conversation she was going to have that night. She'd decided that telling the truth as far as she possibly could would be best. And as for the rest, she had told him the whole truth before and that's the reason she was in this mess in the first place. Understandably, he hadn't believed her.

She couldn't deny it had cut her up inside to hear the anger and hurt in Gene's voice when he'd told her to get out of his sight that day in his office.

_But what did you expect? He couldn't possibly understand. You sounded like a crazy person. After all you rebuked Sam Tylers' claims that he had been living in the early 70's. You gave his 'story' credence only as a psychological study, you didn't really believe him._

She felt butterflies in her stomach. This was her chance to put things right with Gene and she couldn't afford to mess it up again. Of course she wanted to go back to her daughter, she wanted that more than anything, but it hurt too much to think about Molly for too long. To think about how hard she had tried to get home when she first arrived in 1981 just to fail every time. It made her feel helpless. It made her feel like a failure as a mother.

No, she had to bide her time. And while she was stuck living in this time she needed Gene on her side, she needed her constant.

* * *

Gene sat outside Alex's flat in the Quattro, smoking fag after fag. He knew he should just go inside and get it over with but the fear thins were about to get a lot worse (something he hadn't thought possible a week ago) was keeping him routed to the drivers seat.

He honestly didn't know what to think. But then that's what always happened to him when Alex was around. He couldn't think straight. His vision got screwed up and she could make him feel invincible and make him doubt himself all at the same time.

His guilt over the shooting had been so intense after it happened that it had driven away any doubts he'd had about Alex before. But since she'd woken up the relief he felt had been tainted a little as the events leading up to the shooting had begun to return to him.

_She lied to me. She stood in my office, looked into my eyes and couldn't tell me the truth. After everything, SuperMac, Chris, everything. _And that was what he couldn't get over, he'd thought they were solid together, at work at least even if nothing more.

And she didn't want me anywhere near her when she woke up, told me so herself. And now she wants to talk.

_It can't be good._

Deciding he couldn't take the suspense any longer he threw the butt of his cigarette out of the car window, pulled his keys from the engine and got out of the car.

* * *

"Take a seat", Alex told Gene as she shut the front door behind him and went over to the kitchen. She took a bottle of whisky from the cupboard along with two glasses and poured them both a generous measure before taking them into the living room. She handed one to Gene and sat down on the other end of the sofa with her own, tucking her feet underneath herself.

There was a couple of moments of awkward silence as Gene tried to work out why he was there and Alex tried to find the right words to start.

"So . . . how's the wound?" Gene asked, not taking his eyes away from the glass in his hands.

"Like I said on the phone before it's much better now thanks."

"Good", Gene took a swig of whiskey.

"Gene, I don't really know the best way to say this but I want to apologise for what happened when I woke up in the hospital."

"Don't have to apologise to me Bolly, you were waking up from a coma. Is doesn't matter."

"It does matter", she said a little more forcefully than she'd meant to. He glanced up at her face. "After all you'd been through because of me. Getting arrested . . ."

"Not your fault Alex, I shot you." He sniffed and looked back down at his glass again. "It's m' own fault."

"But you didn't mean too Gene and I know that. You weren't trying to protect me. I just . . . well it's . . . when I was in the coma I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"That I was back with my daughter. I held her in my arms and waved her off to school and I . . ." Her voice broke. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes as she willed herself not to cry.

He looked back up at her face now.

"It's just I've never seen the two of you together. You've never met her. I associate you with this . . . place and my daughter with somewhere else. When I woke up and saw you, I realised I had been dreaming and that Molly wouldn't be here. I was upset but that's not your fault. It has nothing to do with you and I'm sorry I was so horrible to you."

She was crying now. Her will had caved and she could feel the warm tears sliding down her cheeks. Gene was silent for a moment before he reached over and took one of her hands in his own. "Don't cry Bolls."

She took a deep breath. "Then I forgot all about what I said to you and when you didn't come to visit me at the hospital I thought you must still be mad at me. That you thought I was . . . bent."

Gene let go of her hand suddenly taking another swig of his drink.

"I had a lot of time to think while you were in the hospital Bolls. I know you're not bent, that much I'm certain of but the rest I just can't figure out. How you knew about the gold job, the routes, the things you said in my office, those tapes . . ." He trailed off and drained the last of the liquid left in his glass.

Alex made her voice sound as confident as she possibly could. "Gene I know I said a lot of crazy things at that time. To be honest I can't remember a lot of them. but we got the bad guys on that job didn't we? It just seemed unlikely to me that they would carry out such a high profile job in the main high street and I remembered hearing about a similar blag in that area many years ago when I was training and figured that they would expect us not to believe in a repeat job in the same location. Does that make sense?"

Gene grunted. "I suppose." It sounded reasonable enough to him, she was always spouting psychobabble to him and picking up on things that he nor none of his team had even noticed. It was the tape he was more bothered about. "And the rest?"

"You mean the tape?" At his nod she replied "Did you listen to the rest of the tape?"

"No, I think I heard enough at the start."

"You should have done. I started making those tapes when I first cam here. You remember what that time was like. We were always fighting like cat and dog. I didn't know why I was here." At his confused look she amended "In this particular station with you. I just wanted to get home to my daughter and it took me a long time to realise that wasn't possible and that you were on my side."

"It hurt Alex."

"I know and I'm truly sorry for that. I don't expect you to forgive me but do you think we can still work together? I suppose you could transfer me if you want but . . ."

Gene interrupted "Alex I don't plan on transferring you anywhere unless you choose to go yourself, and I think I have just as much to be sorry for, I did shoot you after all."

"I know but you . . ."

"Didn't mean it, I know, but it still happened and it shouldn't of."

Alex smiled at him reassuringly, hoping they could now start to rebuild their relationship.

"Right then", Gene got up suddenly, "Now that's all sorted out, I'm off. I'll pop round tomorrow Bolly ok? See how you're feeling. We can talk about you returning to work. Place isn't the same without you."

Alex's smile turned into a grin now as she nodded. "See you tomorrow Gene."

**Ok, I know it would have taken more than that for them to sort their problems out but it's my stor so I can do as I like can't I? :D**

**Please review if you liked, or even if you didn't and tell me what I'm doing wrong.**

**Thanks x**


	10. Relapse

**So sorry for the HUGE delay in gettign this chapter up. I can only apologise and hope you like the update :) Thanks once again to all my lovely reviewers – this chapter is for you!**

* * *

_You idiot Gene, you practicaly ran out of that flat. _Now sat safely back in the comfort of his beloved Quattro, Gene was silently berating himself for running out on Alex so soon. The truth was that despite their relatively civil telephone conversation earlier Gene had still been prepared for some sort of argument, angry accusations, rejection or even a combination of all these things. When Alex had clearly been upset, apolegetic and confused Gene had felt even worse than before he saw her.

_She thought I didn't want to see her? She really thought I'd have her transferred from the station voluntarily? _He shook his head slightly. _She must've really banged her head when she fell. _

He felt the bile rise up from his gut as it had every single time he thought about the shooting since it happened. That sickly feeling had been a constant feeling in days when Alex had been unconscious in the hospital. He had spent all day sat in his cell in his station thinking thought after thought. He analysed how much his life had changed since DI Alex Drake had walked into his life. How she had driven him mad, defied practically every order she had ever given her, spouted nonsense that meant nothing to him whatsoever, questioned his methods and even his loyalty to the force at one point. He thought back to how he had been when he first met Sam. _What would Alex say if she knew about the back-handers and the deciet. _He thought about what he would do if she died and he was left alone once again. It wouldn't matter if he was found guilty of manslaughter or murder, it would't matter that he would be locked away in a tiny celll until he was an old cripple. There would be no-one on the outside worth getting out for anyway. Sure he had Ray and Chris and even Shaz up to a point but Ray would never need anyone and he wasn't sure Chris believed that the shooting had been an accident. Shaz was different. Although a close friend of Alex, he thought Shaz knew it had all been an accident. She was a lot smarted than she let on and she made no secret that she saw the same spark between her two senior officers that Gene himself had thought he felt until a couple of weeks ago.

_I can't think about this anymore tonight. Need to sleep on it. _Tired after a long and draining day, Gene put the car into gear with a heavy sigh and headed home, pretending not to know that he would get no sleep.

* * *

6.09am.

Alex gingerly pushed back the covers and padded out of the bedroom into the kitchen. After a fitful night's sleep involving a lot of tossing and turning, she had finally had enough and decided to get up. Unable to find a comfortable, painless position in bed and plagued with thoughts of Gene and Molly and time travel, sleep flatly refused to come.

At some ridiculous time of the night, Alex has resolved not to worry about why she was here in the 80's anymore. She had spent so long already doing that and had achieved no reasoning or explanation or any kind of solution. Instead she had worked herself up so much that she had severed her bond with the man she had formed such a vital but precarious relationship with and her brain had punished her by conjuring up a vision of vision of her own time and her daughter. She had destroyed Gene's trust in her in a desperate attempt to get home and it had all backfired. Alex knew that she needed Gene on her side in this world. She had to believe that one day she would get home to Molly but for now she would start living her life one day at a time until the time came for her to return home. She had to believe that, there was nothing else she could do. That much she had proved to herself. Molly would be OK in 2008 with Molly. Despite everything Alex had learned about her godfather in this time, if it was indeed true, she was convinced that he would never put Molly in danger, that was something else she had to believe in. Anything else was too unbearable.

Molly would be OK. She had Evan and she had her friends and family, her granparents. But here Alex was alone. She had no-one but Gene. Of course she thought of Shaz and Chris as friends but they were a young couple in love who had each other and didn't want an older woman hanging round like a bad smell. Ray too she had come to respect. In a similar way to Gene, although his methods may not always be respectable, his motives almost always were. But Ray was a grown man with a 1980's view on life and women and Alex wasn't sure their 'mutual appreciation' of each other at work made them the best of friends. Gene was different.

Alex couldn't help but smile at that thought. Thinking back to when she first arrived in 1981, Alex couldn't quite believe how much she had hated him. His arrogance, his 'hit first, ask questions later' attitude, his male chauvanism and his archaic attitude to women. But then she began to spend more and more time with him and something changed. She began to see sides of Gene that she had never realised existed before. Despite his demeanor he did care about people, especially those on his team. He kept himself at a distance from others to maintain his authority and prevent getting hurt. A tactic Alex could fully understand. After the breakup of her own marriage, she had cut herself off emotionally from everyone except Molly, not willling to go through anymore pain and heartbreak. She began to realise they weren't so different. Sure she had never resorted to booze, fags and prostitutes but she wasn't a man who grew up in the 1960's and 70's so she figured she had to give him some slack.

Now sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of tea Alex felt a twinge of pain in her stomach. She tried shifting to get into a more comfortable position but the pain did not subside. Rising off the sofa in search of painkillers, Alex somehow tripped on the leg of the coffee table in front of the sofa. Although she managed to put her arms out in front of her to break her fall, the sudden landing on the floor sent intensified pain shooting through her abdomen.

Lying where she fell for several moments, Alex closed her eyes and trid to bite back tears. When the pain had only got worse in a couple of minutes, Alex used one arm to drag herself along the carpet towards the side of the sofa where the telephone lay on the small coffee table. Instead of ringing 999 she dialled the only other number she knew by heart.

" 'llo?"

"Gene?" She heard her own voice crack.

Gene was immediately alert. "Bolls?"

"Gene? My stomach . . . it really hurts . . ."

"On m' way Bolls, don't move."

Not bothering to replace the phone, Alex brought her knees up to her chest and waited for him to arrive.

* * *

Gene was dressed and in the car within 5 minutes of putting the phone down. Pulling up outside Luigi's on the dark, empty street, he wasted no time in racing up to the first floor apartment. Knowing where Luigi kept the spare key after his many drunken stays there himself in the past, Gene pushed open the front door to a sight that made his heart stop and the breath catch in his throat.

Alex was crumpled up in a heap on the floot just inside the door next to the sofa with her back to him. For one awful second he feared the worst but then he heard the sobs in the otherwise silent flat. He felt the breath race back into his lungs. His relief was short-lived however when he moved closer to see her eyes clenched shut, arms crossed over her chest, knees curled up into a ball and her whole body shaking with the force of her sobbing.

"Alex?" he whispered, shoving the coffee table in front of her to one side so he could kneel on the floor in front of her. He wasn't sure she had heard him enter the flat but now she opened her eyes and looked at his through reddened, blood-shot eyes.

"Gene?" She looked almost shocked. "You came?"

"Course I came ya daft tart. Now come on, need to get ya in the car an' off to the hospital."

"No Gene", her voice came much stronger as she grabbed his hand that had previously been placed on his knee. Although Gene noticed her wince in pain at the movement she continued to shake her head. "Not the hospital please, I just need some painkillers."

"Alex this aint-"

"They're on the counter behind you Gene", she interrupted him. "Please?"

She had closed her eyes again and Gene decided to let her have it her way for now. Painkillers could only help so he retrieved his hand and went to the kitchen counter. After reading the dosage amount labelled on the front of the packet and filling a glass of water he returned to the living room. He placed them on the coffee table before turning to Alex and coaxing her into a sitting position, leaning her back against the sofa.

"Here take these." He watchd her swallow the pills and take a few sips of water before taking the glass from her shaky hand and returning it to the coffee table now on the other side of the small room.

"Half an hour Alex", he told her. "Half an hour an' if it's no better we're going down the hospital whether ya want to or not."

He saw her nod once before he sat down on the floor beside her and drew her into his arms. He felt her place her head on his shoulder and her arm snaked around the front of his chest as he placed his chin on her head and tried to ignore the smell of her shampoo as he listened to her breathing steady and her body begin to relax.

**What did you think? As always, please let me know and I promise to update much sooner this time xxx**


	11. Sorry

**A quick thanks to my lovely reviews from the last chapter – glad you liked after such a long delay. Here's the next chapter as promised. As always reviews are more than welcome :D xxx**

Alex was awoken by the shrill noise of a car horn outside on the street. Slowly opening her eyes and slipping further in consciousness, she felt a dull ache throbbing up her back and a small groan of pain escaped her lips.

"Bols? What's up? Ya stomach still hurtin'?" Gene's voice startled her a bit as she lifted her head from where it had been resting on his shoulder and blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

"Gene?" Her voice betrayed her confusion but even as she whispered his name the events of the previous night came flooding back into memory.

"Come on Bolly, ya need to see a quack."

Alex felt his attempt to pull away from her as he withdrew his arm from around her back but she quickly grabbed his hand. "No Gene I'm fine." He looked sceptical. "Really", she added. "It's just a crick in my back where I've been sat hunched over."

"Ya sure Bolly? I can take ya down the hospital. I'm gonna be late for work now anyway so it makes no difference."

There was no judgement or malice in his voice but Alex suddenly felt guilty. She had called him out in the middle of the night, fallen asleep in his arms and now he was going to be late for work and people might talk. She looked up but couldn't see the clock on the mantelpiece from their position on the floor. "What time is it?"

Gene looked at his watch. "Ten past nine."

_Shit. _"Oh God Gene, I'm so sorry." She let go of his hand and sat up straight so she was no longer leaning on his chest. "You should go."

She looked at his face and felt guilty for the second time that morning when she saw pain flash in his eyes for a split-second before his face adopted the traditional pout she had come to expect and maybe even find attractive. She would never admit that to anyone though of course and especially not to him. He didn't say anything for several moments but just simply stared at her. She noticed his hesitation but didn't know what to say. After what seemed like hours he got to his feet. "Right you are Bolly." He looked confused for a moment. "Mind if I use ya bathroom?"

Alex shook her head. "Course not." She noticed for the first time how rumpled Gene looked. Obviously in a hurry to get dressed last night, or rather earlier that morning, he must have simply thrown on the clothes he had worn to work the day before. Getting dressed in a hurry and spending a couple of hours sat on the floor being used as a human pillow had taken its toll. His shirt was creased and half untucked from his trousers while his hair was ruffled and a light sheen of overnight facial hair covered his chin and cheeks. _Suits him, _she thought to herself before clearing her throat of the lump that had suddenly appeared there. "I think there's still one or two of your shirts here too, I'll go and find you one." Gene leapt forward as she moved to get up.

"Not sure you should be moving too much today Bolls. After last night you should probably take it easy."

Alex couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Compassion from Gene Hunt. _Momentarily touched by his concern, Alex didn't know what to say and simply smiled at him as he held onto her arms. "I think I can manage a trip to the bedroom to get you a shirt Gene."

Gene dropped her arms as though she had just bitten him and she watched his face as he suddenly became very interested in something on her carpet. "Yeah, right, thanks ..."

Confused at the sudden change in mood Alex brushed past Gene and into the bedroom. _What the hell happened there? _Opening her wardrobe, she reached up and pulled down the only remaining clean shirt of Gene's that had been in the flat when she first arrived all those months ago. The truth was she actually had several of his shirts left in the flat, keeping them in a drawer by her bed and she had been using them to sleep in before the shooting. Alex loved the idea that they were Gene's shirts that he had worn and every time she slipped one on at night she couldn't help but feel a little closer to the man himself and wonder what he would do if he saw her in one. But of course that was before the shooting and everything that had come with it and she was no longer sure of what they meant to each other. Any thoughts or dreams she may have had regarding an advancement of their relationship were probably shattered, although she couldn't forget the way he had rushed over in the early hours of the morning and stayed with her while she fell asleep to make sure she was ok. _Not that he had much choice Alex, what with you ringing him in tears and all. Any man, or woman for that matter, would have done the same. You yourself would have done the same for Ray or Chris or Shaz. Stop reading so much into it._

Taking the clean shirt out of the bedroom she knocked on the bathroom door. "Gene?"

* * *

Gene shrugged yesterday's shirt from his back before rubbing a hand across the stubble across his chin. _Shit, no razor here. _He hadn't had time to think about such practical things when Alex had called him last night. He subconsciously balled his fists on the sides of the sink and squeezed his eyes shut as he thought about that call. Gene had realised one person could sound so pained in such a small number of words. But the sound of Alex on that phone last night had caused a pain deep in his gut that he couldn't possibly ignore, even if he'd wanted to. _All she has to do is call me and I come running. _

Just for a split second he'd thought he was too late when he entered the flat and saw her crumpled up in a heap on the floor. _If she'd been ...... _he shook his head. That was too horrible to even contemplate. She was up and awake and fetching him a shirt from her bedroom.

God, that comment has caused a reaction in him he'd never expected. Gene Hunt, the Manc Lion, put off at even the slightest hint of domesticity. However, the truth was that he hadn't been put off or intimidated by Alex's comment at all. It had scared him yes and even though he knew she hadn't meant it to, it had sounded so much like something a wife would say to her husband. Fetching _his_ shirt from _their _bedroom. But it wasn't that he was scared of the implied commitment. He was scared at how much he had wanted it in that second she looked up at him with those wide, hazel green eyes of hers.

_Big poof, _he chided himself. _It was a silly throw-away comment that meant nothin' an' you're acting like a love-struck teenager because of a woman that is way out of your league an' has made it clear on several occasions that she is not interested in you. An' that was before you shot 'er. _

Gene resolved to be more manly about the whole issue. That lasted about 5 seconds until he heard a knock on the door and her voice.

"Gene?"

He moved to open the door still in a daze thinking about the past couple of weeks. It didn't even register that he had removed his shirt to wash and was still half naked in Alex Drake's flat. He pulled the bathroom door back to reveal the current occupant stood in the hallway clutching one of his old light blue shirts to her chest in an almost death grip. She had pulled a red silk dressing gown around her black satin pyjamas but her hair was ruffled from a restless night and her face was still devoid of make-up. _Bloody gorgeous. _Neither of them spoke for several moments but Gene didn't miss the way her gaze travelled down his bare chest and lingered there.

Nor did he miss the blush in her cheeks as she returned her eyes to his own, cleared her throat and held out the shirt to him. "Erm . . . . here's your shirt, it's the only one I can find", she pushed the shirt towards him and inadvertently brushed the skin of his chest with her fingers. She jerked her hand back as though she'd been electrocuted but he could feel the tingling of his skin where she had touched him.

Gene's resolve practically leapt from him then as he pulled Alex inside the bathroom and pushed her up against the wall next to the doorframe. Looking into her eyes he waited for the inevitable slap or shouting match but they never came. He looked into her eyes and saw nothing but a mirror of his own desire and apprehension. _It's now or never._

Gene thought he'd died and gone to heaven when he covered Alex's lips with his own and she responded, moving her mouth against his own almost hungrily. Gene moaned into her mouth as she took his bottom lip between her teeth and ran her tongue along it silently requesting access. Gene complied opening his mouth and sliding his tongue into her mouth and tangling it with her own.

Pressed up against her heaving chest, Gene could feel Alex's heartbeat hammering in her chest in a similar beat to his own. Breaking the kiss after several minutes, Gene bent his head to kiss and nip at the silky skin of her neck at the same time he moved his hands to her waist and he felt her own hands slide up into his hair.

He bit down on her neck harder than he meant to when she moaned his name and wrapped one of her longs legs around the back of his. Alex let out a sigh of contentment and ran her nails down his back as Gene continued his path down from her neck along her collarbone towards the top of her breasts. "Oh God Gene."

Gene was in a blissful state of arousal when he realised Alex was no longer enjoying herself and wanted him to stop. "Gene wait .... stop .... ow ...... please ...."

Confused he stood back and immediately realised what he'd done. He'd moved his hands from her waist up across her stomach in the direction of her breasts but under her pyjamas had forgotten about the hospital dressing and the wound it hid under there. _The wound you inflicted ya selfish bastard._

Racked with guilt and unsure what to say he simply mumbled "Shit" and swept past Alex, picking up the clean shirt she had dropped just outside the bathroom when he'd first grabbed her. He planned to just grab his coat and leave. He was almost at the front door when Alex called his name. The pain in her voice made him stop dead in his tracks and turn around to face her as she came into the living room. She was holding a hand to her stomach and Gene couldn't decide if he wanted to throw up or punch someone.

"Where are you going?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

_As far away from you as possible so maybe you'll be safe. _"Home . . . work . . ." She looked down at the floor. "Listen Alex, I'm sorry for ya know . . ." he gestured towards her stomach. "For hurtin' ya . . . again. I didn't mean . . ."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me Gene. It was my fault-"

"No it wasn't", Gene cut her off.

"But I wanted to Gene."

"Yeah maybe but-"

"No buts Gene." This time it was Alex's turn to cut him off as her voice was steadier now. "It was just as much my fault as it was yours." He thought he was imagining things when she moved towards him and gingerly placed a hand on his cheek. "I could've said no Gene but I didn't want to." She replaced her hand with her mouth as she pressed a light kiss to his cheek. "I want you", she whispered to his ear.

Gene wanted nothing more than to tell her truth about how he really felt right at that moment but instead he did what he always did. He pulled away. "No Alex, you don't. I ain' good for ya."

He watched as her brows knit together in a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"

_Where do I even start? _"Just wha' I said Alex, it ain' ever gonna work so why go there?"

The look on her face as she recoiled from him cut up his insides and he wanted to put his arms around her and never let go. But he knew that could never happen. The hurt she felt now would be nothing compared to the damage he would cause her in the future. _Better to give her a get out clause now before it's too late for both of us._

_I have to get out of here now before I give in again. _He felt awful leaving her in a state of confusion and pain but he feared he may do something they would both regret later if he didn't. "You gonna be ok?" He looked pointedly at her wound.

She nodded. "It's fine I just to take my medication."

"Good." He sniffed and slung his coat around his shoulders. "Better get to work then Bolly . . . I'll ring later an' check you're ok?"

She was looking at the floor again and simply nodded. Turning his back on her and opening the front door he glanced back once more "Bols?" Alex looked up and Gene saw the tears in her eyes. That punch or gag reflex returned as he put on the most sincere voice he could muster with a lump in his throat. "I am really am sorry Alex."

And with that he was gone.

**Thoughts? xxx**


	12. Helpless

**Once again, I can only apologise for the lack of updates recently - final year exams and coursework at Uni really taking up a lot of my time atm so I know this chapter is short and doesn't really move the story forward too much but hopefully it's just a little update to keep people vaguely interested while I work on the next chapter, which is already started :) xxx**

**Un-beta'd so any mistakes are my own**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Alex stood there, numb. She didn't know what to do or what to feel. Two minutes ago she'd thought she was in heaven, Gene pressing her up against the bathroom wall kissing her into oblivion. All the feelings that had been simmering there between them for so long finally surfacing. _Ok, maybe not in the way I'd dreamt of. Me in my pyjamas with a hole in my stomach and Gene here to babysit me after I made a fool of myself. _But she'd enjoyed their embrace, if a little brief, this morning. _More than enjoyed. _

She'd been wanting to kiss him for so long, dreamed of doing more than just kissing him, even when she'd found herself back in the present with Molly. The most important person in Alex's life had been right there with her and she'd still found herself wanting Gene.

And not just on a physical level. _Last night proved he means more to you than just a potential shag. _The lust was there as well of course. It had practically exploded in the pit of her stomach last night when he'd pushed her up against the wall and she tasted his mouth with her own. But it was more than that as well. Gene made her feel safe in a world where she had felt scared for most of the time, in a world that she's thought for so long that she didn't belong in. Now she wasn't so sure where she belonged but she did know one thing for definite. Gene was the first person she thought of in a crisis and he was always there. _Except now. _

She could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and relax the muscles she had subconsciously tensed up at Gene's rejection and subsequent departure.

Upon opening them again, Alex's immediate line of vision meant she caught sight of the glass Gene had filled with water the previous night to help her take her medication. Without thinking she crossed to the table, picked up the glass and threw it across the room towards the kitchen with a cry of anguish. She was one again separated from her daughter, had a bullet in her brain in 2008, had a hole in her stomach in the 80's and now to top everything off she may have lost Gene as well.

Unable to cope right at that moment and feeling utterly defeated and helpless, Alex forced herself to take her medication before removing her robe and crawling back into bed, tears coming in waves now and she was unable to separate the pain of loss she felt for Molly, the pain she felt at Gene's rejection of her advances and the physical pain in her stomach.

* * *

The whole station, let alone CID, realised within thirty seconds of Gene entering the building that the Guv was definitely not in the best of moods and anyone who dared to speak to him would do so at their own risk.

Smoking and drinking in his office all morning Gene tried to ignore the nagging voice in his head that told him he was being a prat. He couldn't believe the way he'd just walked out on Alex again. _It's getting to be quite the habit Hunt. _But he couldn't help it. When things got too personal or uncomfortable, Gene Hunt didn't back away slowly, he ran away at lightening speed.

The truth was he felt like shit. He'd experienced every emotion under the sun in just a couple of hours that morning; fear, relief, apprehension, lust, happiness, denial and now the one currently winning out his conscience was guilt. _Not only did you accuse the woman of being bent, shoot her and put her in a coma for months, you practically assault her in a confused and vulnerable state and then run out on her. Again._

He hung his head in shame. He knew he had to put things right but he didn't know how. He was crap at this sort of thing and he didn't want to risk hurting Alex any more than he already had. But at the same time he knew what he'd said that morning was right. No matter how he might feel about her, and how close he had come to telling her that morning, or she about him, Gene knew it could never really work out between them and it was best to just carry on as they were before things got really out of hand and they could no longer work together. Gene didn't think he could handle that. While it was torture to walk away from her that morning he knew that if one of them was forced to transfer and he never saw her again, that would be hell on earth and he really didn't want to think about that scenario. _That's if she doesn't decide to put in for a transfer anyway after your performance this morning._

Swigging back the last remnants of whiskey in the glass in front of him, Gene looked up just in time to see Viv swing through the doors into CID. Ray was opening the door to his office seconds later.

"Guv, armed blag in progress at some posh bird's house in the suburbs."

Gene was up on his feet and shrugging his coat on in an instant. "Round up the troops Raymondo."

* * *

Alex snatched the phone off it's cradle just as it rang on. Cursing her lack of an answering machine and the '1471' function, she went into the bathroom figuring whoever it was would ring back if it was urgent. She didn't have to wait long.

"Ma'am?"

Alex recognised the voice straight away."Yes Shaz?"

"You should get down to the hospital Ma'am, there was a robbery and guns were fired and the Guv..."

Alex heard the young woman choke on a sob and pushed down a tide of panic that threatened to take her over. "Shaz, what is it? Is he ok?"

"He's, he was..."

"Shaz?" Alex snapped harsher than she intended but her fear for Gene's health was outweighing her need to be polite.

"Sorry Ma'am, it's just he was shot and they've taken him to the hospital. Chris and Ray are there now with him but it's touch and go. They're not sure if he's gonna pull through Ma'am."

Alex couldn't speak. She wouldn't have known what to say even if she could. _Gene's been shot. Touch and go. Might not pull through. _All she could do was keep repeating those words over and over in her mind.

"Ma'am? You ok?" Shaz's voice brought her back to reality.

"I'm going to the hospital Shaz."

Alex put the phone down, unable to process Shaz's thoughtful inquiry about sending a squad car to pick her up. Ringing for a taxi, she quickly got dressed, picked up her keys and some change and went downstairs to wait.

_Gene's been shot, Gene's been shot, Gene's been shot..._

_

* * *

_

**Hope that was ok, let me know what you think xxx**


	13. Comatose

**Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I really do appreciate you taking the time to tell me what you think. **

**A/N: Just a reminder that Chris and Shaz are still together in this story. Also un-beta'd so any mistakes are my own.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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* * *

**

"DI Drake, I need to see DCI Hunt now", Alex flashed her badge at the nurse at the front desk of St Guy's hospital. Everything seemed surreal to her. Every since her phone call to Shaz, Alex had felt almost as if she were in a dream. She could see and hear things around her but she felt disconnected from her surroundings emotionally. Numb inside.

"I'm sorry but that won't be possible", the burly-looking nurse, identifies as Cath on her name badge, told her in no uncertain terms.

"Why not?" Alex was acting on auto-pilot. "I'm a senior police officer and a serious crime-"

"Calm down Inspector", Cath interrupted. "The reason you cannot see Mr Hunt is because he is still in theatre. The surgeon will be down to speak to you when the operation is complete."

"Theatre?" Alex forced the word out.

Cath nodded. "Yes, the bullet lodged in the top of your gentleman's thigh. The surgeons are working to remove it now."

"Bullet?" Alex realised she sounded ridiculous but it was suddenly all she could do to repeat what the nurse was telling her. Hearing the words said out loud by a woman in a uniform made the situation a hundred times more real and she tried to swallow down the lump in her throat.

"Yes..." Cath hesitated, suddenly unsure of herself. "You do know Mr Hunt was shot?"

Alex tried to force her brain into action but the numbness she felt seemed to be spreading to her vocal cords, the panic finally setting in and she could no longer form the words she wanted to say.

Cath was still eyeing her in confusion when Alex was saved by Shaz. "Ma'am, is that you?" she turned towards her voice. Shaz was walking towards her, balancing three plastic cups of coffee in her hands. "I came as soon as I got off the phone with you. We've been keeping an eye out for you, didn't think you'd be here just yet." She nodded her head in the direction of a long corridor to the side of the desk. "Come on, Chris and Ray are in the waiting room."

Upon walking into the surprisingly spacious but dingy waiting room, Alex saw Ray stood pacing in the far corner. _Chain smoking if the fag in his mouth and the crushed pile of cigarette butts are anything to go by. _Chris was sat hunched forward on one of the uncomfortable-looking plastic chairs on the opposite side of the room. Elbows resting on his knees and his hands fiddling with an empty coffee cup similar to the ones in Shaz's grasp, Alex could practically feel the nervous energy waving off him in waves.

"Ray?" she offered a cup and he took one with a small nod of thanks.

Chris looked up as Shaz approached and replaced the empty cup in his hand with one full of coffee. "Thanks Shaz."

She kissed him on the cheek. "No prob."

"Here you go Ma'am", Shaz offered the final cup, which had presumably been for herself, to the currently mute Alex. "Why don't you take a seat?" After guiding her senior officer to a chair Shaz slid into the one beside her. "I'm sure it won't be long now, the bullet only hit the fleshy part of the leg and I'm sure he'll be back to shouting at us at work in no time."

Alex didn't miss the irony that although she was the youngest and most inexperienced officer in the room, WPC Sharon Granger was currently acting like a mother hen, looking after her little baby chickens.

She wanted to believe her friend so much but something at the back of her mind was telling the more experienced police officer that something was wrong. _A harmless bullet to the flesh doesn't take so long to remove. Something must have gone wrong._

_

* * *

_

Two hours later a surgeon still in his scrubs appeared at the door of the still solemn waiting room. Alex practically leapt from her seat as Ray, now sat on the other side of Chris, and nudged the DC who had long-since fallen asleep holding Shaz close to him.

"You're colleagues of Mr Hunt?"

Alex nodded as Ray answered "Yeah", and Chris muttered sleepily "Is he ok?"

"I'm afraid there were some complications during the procedure but Mr Hunt is stable for the moment."

Alex heard his words and felt the panic sweep over her again as her worst fears was being confirmed.

"Complications?" Ray asked the question Alex wanted to ask but couldn't even begin to form the words for.

"Due to the serious nature of the injury and the fact Mr Hunt has no next of kin listed in his medical files, we had to take him into theatre as quickly as possible to remove the bullet. Unfortunately, during the operation he had an allergic reaction to the general anaesthesia administered to him and consequently suffered anaphylactic shock. We've managed to stabilise his heart and blood pressure for the time being and successfully remove the bullet but he hasn't regained consciousness yet. I'm afraid he's in a coma and it's up to Mr Hunt to wake up now, there's nothing more we can do for him except monitor his condition and ensure he doesn't deteriorate."

Ray didn't miss a beat. "He's a tough bastard, he'll be fine."

Alex was a loss. She had listened to the doctor's explanation but now there was only one word resonating around in her mind. _Coma. Gene's in a coma. _It was just all too much to take in. She heard Shaz speak for the first time since the doctor had appeared and tuned back in.

"Can we see him?"

"I don't see why not", the doctor replied. "But only one visitor at a time for the moment please, at least until we see an improvement in his condition."

Turning round to face the others Alex was trying to put together what she wanted to ask when Shaz spoke again. "Why don't you go first Ma'am?"

Alex could have kissed her. She followed the doctor through the corridors of the hospital focusing all her concentration solely on successfully placing one foot in front of the other. To anyone else who happened to be walking around the wards Alex would have appeared perfectly relaxed and composed. Of course, they couldn't hear her heart beating furiously in her chest.

The doctor stopped slightly ahead of her outside a room she presumed must be Gene's. She smiled in thanks at him as he held open the door for her to pass into the room.

The scene in front of her knocked the breath from Alex's lungs. Gene was laid on his back, blankets pulled up over his lower torso, hands resting by his sides, skin pale and tubes and wires protruding from his body hooking him up to various machines that were helping to keep him alive.

The Manc Lion was officially de-clawed for the time being and the sight of it was enough to send all the emotion she'd been bottling up back through her body and she gasped with the force of it. Tears sprang to life and rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks as all the worry and fear she's been successfully pushing to the back of her mind fought its way to the surface.

Alex felt unsteady on her feet and moved to sit in the chair, placed beside the bed, before her knees could buckle from underneath her. She only hesitated for a moment before she picked up Gene's hand, shocked by the coolness of his skin. She quickly pushed away the unwelcome thought of how similar he looked to so many of the victims she had seen throughout her career, laid out on the autopsy table just as Gene was laid out on the hospital bed in front of her. Subconsciously, she began massaging his hand between both of hers, trying to rub some warmth back into his seemingly lifeless body.

"Gene..." she whispered between sobs. "Gene, I only just got back here. You can't... leave me. You have to wake up. I need you to wake up."

Despite the sombre situation she currently found herself in, Alex felt a little grin spread across her face as she thought about what Gene would say if he could see her now. Sat here by his bedside in old worn-out clothes, no make-up, red puffy eyes, clinging onto his hand practically begging him to wake up. She could almost hear that rough Northern accent of his as she played the words in her head. _Come on Bolly, stop being such a soft, Southern nancy. Never mind all this touchy-feely bollocks, go and get some real police work done. People in a coma can't bloody hear ya anyway so what's the point? Go and catch the bastard that did this t'me._

"I will Gene, I promise." Realising she had no idea what the circumstances were surrounding Gene's shooting, she made a mental note to ask either Ray or Chris the first opportunity she got. "But first you have to wake up."

Alex decided on a different, manlier, approach. "Come on Gene, who's gonna keep Ray in line and insult Chris while teaching him about the finer things in life? And who's Shaz gonna make tea for and keep sugar importers globally in business?"

Her attempt to lighten the mood slightly failed as fresh tears streamed down her face. She brought his hand up to her forehead as she steadied her elbows on the bed. "And who's gonna rescue me Gene? Who's gonna pull me out of Chas Cale's freezer and rescue me from crazed lunatic officers from the future and ... who's gonna keep me fighting in this world Gene? I may have lost my daughter again for God knows how long and I need you Gene. I need my constant."

**I realised whilst writing this chapter that there's no real plot going in the story so far is there, except my own little Galex musings, so I promise I'll try to include some criminals or something into the next chapter and also try and move on a little from all this angst xx**


	14. Thinking Time

**I'm FINALLY updating this story after such a long time. The end of series 3 left me with no inclination to write tbh and I kinda gave up for a while. Decided to try and carry on again now and see what happens. **

**Once again a huge thank-you to anyone who reviewed – it does mean a lot and I can't thank-you enough for sticking with this story.**

**A/N – Series 3 will have NO bearing whatsoever on this story and just a reminder that it takes place after 2.8. **

**I know I said I would introduce more plot to this story and that will be coming up in a couple of chapter's time, once the characters have sorted themselves out somewhat! **

The next few days felt like several years to Alex. She alternated between pacing around Gene's hospital room, sleeping fitfully on the chair by his bedside and pleading with him to wake up. The latter she only partook in when the hospital around her was quiet of course and she believed no-one was around to hear her pleas.

The nurses had suggested several times that she should go home to shower and get some proper rest but Alex had flatly refused each time. With a lack of advanced mobile-phone technology in 1982 their promises to contact her as soon as there was any change fell on deaf ears. _What if I miss the call? I need to be here when he wakes up. _

The rest of the team had been fantastic; Ray even stepping in on an argument between Alex and a particularly persistent nurse who hadn't wanted to accept his DI's refusals to go home. Nurse Carol had been exceptionally keen to inform them all of the hospital visiting hours and a tired, worried and sore Alex had been in no mood for niceties.

Eventually satisfied that she would prove no trouble, the doctors had finally relented and agreed Alex could stay with Gene. Officially she was there as police protection after the revelation that Gene's shooter had escaped the scene in the haste to get Gene medical attention. However, it was clear to anyone that visited that Alex was in no fit state, emotionally or physically, to provide protection for anyone. No-one mentioned this to Alex herself of course.

"Nice for some innit?" Ray had commented on the way home from the hospital one night. "Swanning off work to sit around and do nothing all day?"

"Shut up Ray", Shaz had admonished immediately. "Even if Ma'am was fit enough to come back to work, which she's not, the Guv's in a bad way. Do you really want him to be alone in that dingy little hospital room all the time?"

Ray's face contorted in thought. He flicked away the cigarette he'd been dangling from his mouth since they exited the hospital and went to open the car door. "Maybe not", he agreed. "But it shouldn't be Drake. They hate each other."

"What?" Shaz's surprise was evident in her voice.

"They are always fighting Shazza", Chris joined in the conversation leaning on the roof of Ray's car. "And he did... ya know..."

"Threaten to kill her, shot her in the stomach and put her in a coma", Ray finished for him.

"That was an accident!" Shad all but screamed. Seeing two pairs of downcast eyes she huffed as she opened the opposite car door and climbed into the back seat. "You two really have no idea do you?"

Ray scrunched his eyes up at Chris in confusion while Chris shrugged his shoulders in silent agreement.

Ray had been to the hospital a couple of times since that first night. He hadn't stayed too long on any occasion; Alex recognising his need to see the Guv but at the same time not wanting to appear too 'sissy'.

Shaz on the other hand had stopped by every night after work, fetching decent food and clothes for Alex from her flat. She'd even offered to stay with Gene while Alex went home but never really expected Alex to take her up on her offer. Instead, Shaz simply sat with her senior officer making small talk and trying her best to provide some distraction from the silence of the room, broken only by the occasional beeps from of the several machines Gene was currently hooked up to.

Alex was grateful for those brief respites from her fears and worries; Shaz was pretty much her closest friend in this world apart from Gene. _A friend._

Alex had had a lot of time to think over the last few days – more time than she wanted to really think about her unique situation and where she stood in this world she had once again found herself immersed in.

She'd made the decision when she'd woken up again in 1982 a week earlier that she had to start living, rather than simply existing, in this place. Whether it was indeed the construction of a fictitious world by her damaged brain or some kind of weird time travel she had learnt the hard way her total lack of control over what happened there and her continued presence. She had to carry on with the belief that an opportunity for her to return to Molly would one day present itself.

One other thing she was certain of was that Gene Hunt was no longer just a friend to her. The lust he had sparked within her body with just the touch of his hands had not come as a shock to Alex on that fateful morning; she had long since recognised her physical attraction to her DCI. No, what had come as a surprise to Alex had been the sense of loss she had felt as he walked away from her. It had been irrationally overwhelming. Something she had felt not too long ago as she watched her parent's car blown up in front of her eyes for the second time. But Gene had been there, taking care of both herself and the younger version of herself so effortlessly.

He made her feel safe all those years ago when her world was falling apart and now he was doing it again; making her feel safe in an unfamiliar place where she was completely separated from her daughter.

Whether she had always wanted it or not, Gene was inside her head and she could no longer imagine her life without him. Nor did she want to. If the time came she would choose Molly of course; she was her own flesh and blood and she knew only too well how it felt to grow up without your mother.

No matter what she felt for Gene she could not intentionally enforce that pain and loneliness on Molly. But Alex dreaded the day she had to make that choice. For a fleeting moment, Alex almost wished Gene never woke up from his coma, saving her the pain of that choice. _Almost. Very Briefly._

That awful admission sent a fresh wave of tears streaming down her cheeks. _Forget that, you have to wake up Gene, please don't leave me here on my own. I've lost my Molly for the foreseeable future and I can't lose you too. _She leant forward resting her forehead on the edge of the bed and allowing the tears to fall freely.

_This is how Molly must feel _Alex thought, w_aiting for me to wake up from my coma. My beautiful Molly..._

Alex's sombre thoughts were interrupted as she became vaguely aware of movement around her. She felt her heart jump as her ears registered the low Mancunian rumble.

"These sheets on 'ere look like a giant hankie to ya do they Bolls?"

Alex's head snapped up, blinking her eyes furiously to try and clear the tears. "Gene?" she whispered, afraid she'd fallen asleep on the bed and was now dreaming. She noticed his eyes were still closed but he continued to tease.

"I have a reputation to uphold ya know and the nurses are hardly gonna be impressed by the Gene Genie if they think I've wet the bed now are they Bolly?"

Alex burst into tears yet again. She couldn't stop it, the relief she felt overriding the desire not to look like an emotional teenager in front of Gene. _He's seen you stretched out on your floor screaming like some kind of banshee with mussed up hair and smudged make-up, _she tried to reason with herself.

Gene's eyes were now firmly open and Alex could feel his gaze burning into her as she focused on straightening out a non-existent crease in his bed sheet.

"Sorry", she mumbled, fighting to get her sobs under control. "Not really slept that much lately..." she tried to come up with an excuse for her emotional state.

"Bolls..."

Alex cut him off. "A good night's sleep and I'll be a new woman", she tried to lighten the mood a little with a forced smile but Gene's steady expression remained in place.

"Hope not Bolls."

Alex was still trying to get her breath back after the sincerity she had heard dripping from those three little words when a nurse bustled into the room, closely followed by a doctor.

_How do they do that? _Alex let her mind wander for the first time in days after the worry that has taken root in her mind since the shooting began to ebb away now Gene was awake. _Nurses always seem to show up when the patient is waking up or just after they've regained consciousness. S_he could understand years in the future with the aid of computerised monitors and CCTV but in 1982? Alex wasn't so sure.

The activity going on in the room and previously maintaining a steady hum of noise ceased and Alex realised she had become the centre of attention while her mind had been wandering.

"Sorry what?"

"You should go home Miss", the doctor told her.

"If I had a pound for every time someone said that to me in the past week..." Alex mumbled without thinking.

"He's right Bolly, you look like crap." She was taken aback at his words but the expression on his face showed genuine concern.

"Mr Hunt is now out of any immediate danger but he still needs a couple of days rest. And so do you. You are still recovering from a serious injury yourself DI Drake and I do not want to have to clear out the old woman in the next room suffering from a heart condition because you've been neglecting your own health and upon your readmission to this hospital, insist on being close to your DCI here."

Alex felt her cheeks flame at the doctor's comment and continued to blush as she noticed Gene's unwavering stare.

"Ok, ok, I know where I'm not wanted", she feigned annoyance. "You'll call if there's any change?"

"You'll be the first to know Inspector."

She nodded her thanks to him. Slipping on her jacket and slinging her bag over her shoulder, Alex made to leave, resisting the urge to kiss Gene on the forehead before she went."

"I'll be back in the morning Hunt."

**Hoping to get the next chapter up before the end of the week. In the meantime, please let me know what you think :) xx**


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